Papers and Programs

Last night the ship was rolling so bad that it kept waking me up all night. It has never been as crazy as it was yesterday and today.

 

I got up this morning for breakfast, and then went to the sale at the campus store. I got a sweatshirt, a tshirt for myself, a tshirt for my mom, and a surprise for someone all for $60! It was great. I was going to get SAS postcards for my scrapbook, but they were so old and outdated! They had pictures of the old ship and they said "University of Pittsburgh" on them...the program has been run by University of Virginia since 2005, not to mention the old ship was traded in for the MV Explorer in 2004. I think it's time they got some new postcards.

 

We were back to class today, beginning the countdown of madness. In Global Studies only about 20 people showed up (out of a 300+ student class) because they were broadcasting the lecture on the TV's in our cabins since so many people were seasick. When they broadcast the lectures on the cabins, nobody shows up. I thought class was actually interesting today. We talked about modern architecture. I like architeecture. Race, Class, and Gender was good today too. The teachers put vignettes up on the board, and we had to discuss our feelings about them in small groups and then with the class.

 

I've accomplished some paper writing today. I finished one, have another 80% done, and another half done. Apart from those I still have 3 more papers to write in the next few days, but it will all get done.

 

I attended two programs tonight. The first was an informational session on the Peace Corps from one of the LLC's who just returned in December from 3 years in South Africa. It was really great to get to hear her talk about it first hand, especially since it was so recent. The Peace Corps is definitely something I'm looking into. I'm just not sure whether I want to do it before or after grad school. I think I'm going to try to find her around the ship and talk to her one-on-one about it.

 

The second program was about how to promote your SAS experience in your resume and in interviews. I got some helpful tips regarding what to list in your resume and questions potential employers or grad schools may ask. I was getting restless after having just sat through the Peace Corps info session right beforehand, so I left early. I'm glad I went though. I think my SAS experience will definitely give me an edge when it comes time for real world jobs/grad school.

 

About a half hour ago I decided to take a break from my paper writing and wander around the ship. I went up to the 7th deck and just looked out into the distance. Pitch black. Wind in my face. What am I going to miss most about Semester at Sea? The ocean. There is nothing like being in the middle of the ocean with nothing in sight but water. I love the solidarity, the infiniteness, the promise of it all. I'll miss the blues, and even the greys. I'll miss the sunsets. You haven't seen a sunset until you've seen one from the middle of the ocean. I'll miss the waves rocking me to sleep. I'll miss the real ocean wind. I'll miss the smell. I'll miss the unknown. I'll miss the way it calms me down. I'll miss my ocean.